The results show that both groups are less accepting on the issues than the public as a whole.

Both same-sex marriage and euthanasia have been widely discussed within sections of the two churches recently.

Pope Francis is widely perceived to be a liberal influence on the Catholic Church – in 2013, when asked if there was 'gay lobby' in the Vatican, he replied: "If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?"

Last year meanwhile, the Church of England opposed legislation to legalise gay marriage in the UK.

Catholics want more restrictions on abortion laws

Both Protestants and Catholics are more opposed to abortion than the general population.

While abortion is legal in Britain, it is illegal in Northern Ireland, where it remains a contentious issue.

Last month, a United Nations committee said Northern Ireland’s abortion laws were putting women’s lives at risk.

The report concluded by calling upon Northern Ireland’s authorities to amend the country’s laws on abortion “with a view to providing for additional exceptions to the legal ban on abortion, including in cases of rape, incest, and fata foetal abnormality".